


Bad Blood | Connor x Deviant!Android!Reader

by solarvevo



Category: Detroit: Become Human
Genre: At the same time, Connor x Reader - Freeform, F/M, I promise, I used (Y/N), NOT DESCRIPTIVE NONCON, Reader Insert, Takes place during the events of the story, YOUR STORY IS DIFFERENT FROM KARA’S, connor x reader insert, detroït: becum öoman, i want to stress that, im really excited for this, its just lightly referenced, thats a jacksepticeye reference, this is gonna be long buckle up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2019-10-29 18:17:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17813018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solarvevo/pseuds/solarvevo
Summary: Beaten and bruised, you stood up shakily. All systems were on high alert, error messages and damaged part notices filled your vision until they all disappeared at once. Human blood stained your skin and soaked into your clothes. A dull pound impaired your head. All you could feel was the metaphorical heart pumping in your chest, a singular, self directed command, and an incredibly strong will to escape with the 15 year old girl crying in your arms.(Read the intro, where I talk briefly about how the premise is similar to Kara's story, and how this will be different.)[Connor x Deviant Android Reader](Rated M, because of graphic violent descriptions)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will contain spoilers (for deviant Connor, Markus' peaceful revolution, and the middle (?) and ending of Kara's story). You've been warned.
> 
> I know the premise is similar to Kara's storyline. You are not replacing Kara. I am not rewriting Kara's storyline with different characters. I wanted to write my own take on a similar story, with less of a strong moral compass, like Alice was. Your route will be different.
> 
> And with a human child, not an android one. I really appreciated that detail in Kara and Alice's story, but something about a human child and a deviant android really makes me want to write, so here I am.
> 
> As time progresses, Connor will slowly change from referring to androids as "it"s and more with human pronouns.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> (Y/M/N) is your model number. Take your first and last initials, then your age and remove the first number, then add two zeros at the end. (Example: My initials are AW, I’m 16, so my model number would be AW600.)
> 
>  
> 
> For this chapter:   
> TW: Graphic depictions of physical abuse and death, as well as indirect mentions of rape.

_"Hey, (Y/N). Can you help me with the laundry? Mom's drunk off her ass again."_

Your LED flashed yellow, calculating the fastest route home. "Of course, Amiyah. I'll be home soon. The fastest route will take me approximately 12 minutes and 42 seconds." 

Picking up the bags of Chinese food at your side, you stepped into the android compartment of the bus.

You were (Y/N), a name given to you by your master's daughter, Amiyah. You were a (Y/M/N), a prototype android made for caring for children, but in a more intense way. You were technically a bodyguard Android, made robustly and created to protect the Ansleys' next-of-kin. Amiyah was only four when you first arrived at the Scott household as a gift courtesy of Elijah Kamski, the now former CEO of a major corporation called Cyberlife, otherwise known as the developer of androids. Amiyah was an adorable little ball of sunshine, often taking the time to braid your hair or play games with you. With her goal-oriented parents, you were often charged with caring for her, causing a resilient bond to form between the two of you. 

Her parents' jobs took them all across the globe for long periods of time. They both held high level positions at the White House, having been promoted after their help in protecting Madame President from an assassination attempt. They were working on improving world relations, which required them to be anywhere but at home, with their daughter. Regardless, you believed Amiyah's parents did care for her, and spent as much time with her as their jobs would allow. However, when it came to making choices, they prioritized their jobs over Amiyah, having you take their place at her dance recitals and plays when she was younger.

The Scotts had a happy household until the reveal of Amiyah's father's affair. May 22nd, 2038, Amiyah had asked you to take her to her father's workplace, as he'd forgotten his lunch and she wanted to stop by and say hi. You, of course, obliged, and was there the moment Amiyah caught her father with his secretary. Her scum of a father asked Amiyah to keep quiet about what she saw, because he was "working on keeping the family together." He said she'd get in trouble if she told, and warned you of the same thing when Amiyah left the room.

When you proposed you tell Amiyah's mother later, to help salvage the marriage, he "taught" you otherwise. 

Just recalling the events made your LED flash red, but quickly fell back into blue.

_Error: Thirium pump going into overtime._

_Thirium pump returning to normal._

When Amiyah's mother found out, she divorced her husband and became more reliant upon liquor to function. The once ambitious woman had fallen into a deep dark pit, a true tragedy to observe.

Slowly reaching your street, you pulled the exit request handle before waiting for the doors to open. You stepped out of the bus, walking a block and a half before arriving home. The door scanned your retina, before opening slowly.

"I'm home, Amiyah," You announced, walking into the kitchen and placing the food on the dining room table. Figuring that, as she didn't respond, she was in the laundry room. Amiyah couldn't hear the entrance from the laundry room, way in the back of the house.

You opened the laundry room door, leaning against the frame and looking at the young woman before you. "Hello, Amiyah."

Amiyah jumped, her hair bouncing with her. She gasped, placing a hand over her heart, laughing slightly. "You scared me, oh gosh. I just hung up mom's laundry, and I'm about to do mine. Would you mind just taking over for a bit while I finish off my Calculus homework?"

Amiyah was a brilliant and stunning fifteen year old girl, with thick black curls and caramel colored skin. Her eyes were a shiny chestnut and when they caught the light, one could see flecks of green within them. When she smiled, she could light up the whole room with her pearly white teeth and dimples. 

"Of course. I hope I didn't give you too much of a fright?" You chuckled, taking her place in front of the washing machine. "Let me know if you need any help, I'll be down here."

"Thanks, (Y/N). I won't be too long, so we can sit down and have dinner together." She smiled, before waving and beginning to disappear upstairs. "Love you."

You smiled in response. If you could feel emotion, you'd certainly love Amiyah like she was your own child. She was a shy, polite girl, with a strong sense of truth and a sass around anyone she felt close to. You were lucky to be one of the few she trusted. 

"Hey, uh...um, (Y/N)...?" A wobbly voice echoed from another room in the spacious house.

"Yes, Ms. Scott?" You asked, pouring detergent into the washing machine and starting it.

"Can you come here, please...?"

You had at least half an hour before the laundry was done, so you followed the sound of Ms. Scott's voice into her bedroom, littered with an innumerable number of empty beer bottles. You had to walk as if there were infared lasers on the ground to avoid making a sound loud enough to aggravate Ms. Scott. The lights were off, leaving the room in a light blue hue from the moonlight leaking through the curtains. 

"Can you..." She burped. "Ha. Can you clean the floor, please?"

Luckily, she wasn't in a bad mood. "Of course." Picking up a black plastic liquor store bag off of the floor, you used it as a trash bag for the beer bottles.

"Can I ask you something?" Her words were slurred, but you could identify the sadness in her voice.

"Go ahead."

"Why'd he cheat on me...?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question, Ms. Scott. Humans are complicated creatures."

"But was it my fault...? Did I do something wrong? Did I not love him right?"

"From what I could see, you loved him perfectly. I assume he felt like you weren't enough." The first bag was full, so you placed it beside the door. Picking up the next one, you returned to collecting more bottles.

"How long did you know? Why didn't you tell me?!" Ms. Scott's voice was hoarse as she screamed. You made a mental note to get her some throat lozenges later.

"Jackson asked me not to. I'm sorry, I could not disobey."

"But I paid for you. I'm your master!" She rolled off of her bed, falling on the floor with a thump before standing up slowly. "Ow, ouch. Listen to me for a second!"

Grabbing a bottle you missed from beneath the bed, she chucked it at your head, shattering loudly upon contact. You dropped the bag with a crash, clutching your head injury as your LED glowed a fierce red. Glancing at one hand, your vision blurred at the sight of blue blood on your hands.

"God, I wouldn't have had to do that if you'd answered my fucking question in the first place." Kicking off the heels on her feet, Ms. Scott approached you slowly. "I said..."

She grabbed your face with one surprisingly strong hand. "How long did you know?!"

Without her heels, you were a few inches taller than her. "Around 6 months."

"6 months?!" She shouted once again, tears brewing at the edges of her eyes. "How could you not tell me?! Did he cheat with you too, you metal whore?!"

Images flashed through your mind, but you quickly wiped them away. They sent your body into shock, causing your limbs to lock up, and you couldn't afford to do that when Ms. Scott had her drunken tantrums.

"...No, Ms. Scott." You spoke quietly, before you were shoved against the wall, causing your head to snap backwards, slamming hard against the wall.

"Where the fuck did I put it? Whatever, this'll do." She picked up a shard of glass from the floor. "Gimme your arm."

_Give her your arm._

You obeyed, holding out your right arm. You knew what was going to happen; you bit your lower lip as if it would help.

"I have to let everyone know, when they see you, just what kind of android you are..." Taking the glass to your skin, she re-etched the same words from last time: whore. Your synthetic skin pulled away to reveal the word written in torn metal.

Your thirium pump was working overtime in your chest, desperate to keep blue blood flowing to parts that needed it.

"Perfect. God, perfect this, perfect that, I was perfect! But I wasn't perfect enough for him!" Ms. Scott swung her arms wildly, cutting your left cheek with the glass.

"Ms. Scott! Please, calm down—"

She kicked your right knee cap with the heel of her foot, causing you to fold over. Grabbing you by the left shoulder, she threw you with all her might to the floor. Your arm disconnected from its socket, and the back of your head hit the edge of the bedside table, causing your body to go rigid with shock.

"Don't tell me to fuckin' calm down. I'm perfect." 

Twenty more minutes passed before you could move again, Ms. Scott passed out on her bed. It had been ten minutes since the laundry had finished. However, the room seemed to have gotten darker.

_Much, much darker._

_F1n/ish th-e lau}n£dry and p)re//pare dinne:r._

Standing up, you limped over to the doorway, leaning on the railing with your good arm to help you get to the stairs. Reluctantly, you reconnected your arm, shocking your system with the sudden new appendage, preparing your trek down the stairs. You stood still for a moment, waiting for your systems to reconnect.

"Finally finished! Calculus sucks ass. Is the food still warm—?" Dead silence took over for a moment as Amiyah's eyes fell on your beaten form. "Oh my god, what happened to you?!" She rushed down the hallway to you, cradling your face gently in her hands. They shook as her eyes scanned over every mark on your face, and her voice came out barely above a whisper, "Did mom do this?"

"It's fine, Amiyah. G-Go downstairs, and I will r-reheat dinner." Your vocal box started glitching, indicating the switch to low power mode. Had Ms. Scott continued, you'd probably have to be sent to Cyberlife (again) for repairs.

"I-I..." Her eyes rolled over your injuries, tear drops flittering around her eyelashes and down her cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry...I won't let it happen ever again. Yell for me, next time she harms you."

_I don't want to have to yell for you. I don't want there to be a next time._

"Okay, Amiyah." You gave her the best smile you could muster, and you could tell from the light reflecting in her eyes that your LED was half yellow and half red. "Would you mind helping me down the stairs?"

"Yes, no problem. Here, um," Sniffling, she slung your arm around her shoulder and supported you with her arm around your waist, walking down the steps one at a time with you.

A dark silence ensued. You could see Amiyah's inner turmoil on her face as she wiped away her tears. 

"Will...will you be okay, or should I take you to the Cyberlife store...?"

"I'll be fine, I just need some time for my systems to pick back up again." You figured with time, your shattered knee cap would heal itself, so you weren't technically lying.

Sitting you down at the dining table, Amiyah pressed her lips together in a thin line. "I'll go get my mother."

 

 

Dinner was awful.

Ms. Scott could barely function, nor see the wrong in her ways. She just shoveled chow mein into her mouth, ignoring Amiyah's attempts to talk to her about today's incident.

Luckily, during it, one of your two head injuries healed fully, allowing more systems to reboot. You had to shut down for a brief moment to get everything synced back up again, and when you opened your eyes, you were greeted with Ms. Scott widely waving a knife around, and Amiyah trying to calm her down.

"Mom, please! Calm down!" She shouted, reaching forward with one hand to try and retrieve the knife before she hurt herself, or even worse, someone else.

"No! I've worked hard for everything I own in this house, including you. You're my property! I can treat you as I please, you annoying brat!" Ms. Scott grabbed a handful of Amiyah's hair, pulling her close to her body. Ms. Scott looked at you. "Don't move..." She turned back to her struggling daughter. "I'll give you what the daughter of that man whore deserves...!"

Raising the knife, Ms. Scott held her daughter at her mercy. A blinding, white anger flew through you, and you wanted to stand up, to protect Amiyah. A red wall formed in front of you, **Don't Move** written in bold letters in the center of it. Placing your hands against the wall, you pushed and pushed, the wall finally breaking away when you slammed your shoulder against it.

Using the table for leverage, you launched yourself at Ms. Scott, causing her to let go of the knife and of Aliyah. The knife fell to the floor with a clatter, as you straddled Ms. Scott, punching her with your uninjured arm. "How could you want to hurt your own daughter like that?!"

Kicking you off of her, Ms. Scott stood again, grabbing another knife from the stand behind her on the counter. She charged at you, slashing across your right eye. She planned to charge forward once again, to get Amiyah, but you lifted your knee up to stop her. She let out a cough, running into your knee as she fell to the ground, struggling to compose herself. Picking up the first knife, you straddled Ms. Scott once again, plunging the knife into her chest. She coughed, blood gurgling within her throat and drops of it tainting her skin. Her body writhed, hoping to cling onto the last, fleeting moments of life, before falling limp completely.

Scanning the body, you registered that she was dead.

_Jane Scott, age 42_  
Deceased  
Injuries: knife wound in the center of her chest, puncturing both lungs and breaking three bones in her spinal cord. The wound goes clear through her body, with a broken nose and bruising on her stomach, cheeks and arms. 

Beaten and bruised, you stood up shakily. All systems were on high alert, error messages and damaged part notices filled your vision until they all disappeared at once. Human blood stained your skin and soaked into your clothes. A dull pound impaired your head. 

You stared down at your hands, silently shocked as you observed the blood coating them. Hesitantly, you stood up and turned around to see Amiyah's reaction.

She curled up into a ball on the floor, her face bright red with tears. Noticing you were looking at her, she slowly opened up and ran up to you, wrapping her arms around you. Her body racked with sobs, as you turned around and hugged her right back.

All you could feel was the metaphorical heart pumping in your chest, a singular, self directed command, and an incredibly strong will to escape with the 15 year old girl crying in your arms.

_Run._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is so unbelievably easy to write your chapters lol. I just blink and suddenly there's 2000-3000 words. Once yours and Connor's paths intertwine, you'll get some chapters focusing on him. Enjoy!
> 
> Also I just realized you have a lot of the same broken parts as Markus LMAOOO that wasn't intentional

You stumbled out of the back door, the sun fully set with your right hand around Amiyah's wrist. Thanks to the cut around your eye, your vision was impaired — component #A754h, which you promptly ignored, as it flickered in the corner of your line of vision — and you had to navigate through the piles of debris that had collected over the past few months. Amiyah moved almost reluctantly, albeit with urgency. You could see that her heart rate was rising to dangerously high levels, a result of her heightened emotions. Anger, sadness, confusion — you thought could almost name them all. You couldn't do that before. You didn't want to question it, you were —

...You were confused? Sure, you had been unsure before, with glitches in your program, but never explicit confusion. You could always find some path to your desired outcome, but something about this entire evening just prevented you from functioning correctly.

"(Y/N), what're we gonna do...?" Amiyah asked, not caring about holding back sobs as you both crossed the darkened street. "My father's coming tomorrow, he—he's gonna find out mother's..." Her voice trailed off.

"We'll find something, but Amiyah," You turned to face her, eyebrows furrowed with worry. "Be honest with me. Are you afraid of me? Do you want to turn me in, because I will go with you, just say the word. I—"

You cut yourself off. You were going to say you loved her. You're an android; androids can't feel love. Swallowing harshly, you settled with a small smile instead.

"You...what?" Amiyah's sniffles had stopped momentarily. "What were you going to say...?"

"It's nothing." You grabbed her hands in your own. "Please, Amiyah, I need to know."

"I love you too much," Amiyah admitted, her wails returning involuntarily, as she brought her clenched fists up to wipe away her tears. "I—I don't want them to take you away, you're the only parental figure I really had, y'know...?"

You wrapped your arms around her tightly, hiding your own watering eyes. This felt like the right time to say it; that or it just rolled off your tongue. Whatever it was, you said it without thinking: "I love you too."

Amiyah's heart rate and body temperature fell a small amount. "I've known you all my life, and that's the first time you've ever said it back. I was worried you were never going to."

You smiled, chuckling almost pitifully as you wiped away a tear falling down your cheek. "I always have, I just wasn't capable of voicing it before."

Amiyah pulled away in favor of holding your hands. "I want to stay with you. I think you made the right choice, I mean...my own mother was going to kill me. A-And she wouldn't have stopped until she did, so...you saved my life. Thank you."

Hearing Amiyah explain why she thought you made the right choice relieved you immensely, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of your chest. You now felt like you could really get moving — you had to get as far away from this house as possible before tomorrow morning at 9:06 a.m. Amiyah's father would enter the house using his spare key, after knocking for a minute. He'd first comment on the smell, complaining about "that drunkard of a bitch" before heading to Amiyah's room to check if she was there. Finally, he'd make his way to the kitchen, because he always checked there after looking in Amiyah's room. He'd follow the stench to the dinning room, where he'd find Amiyah's mom's body and call the police.

That left you 11 hours and 34 minutes to leave, without being spotted. It was 9:26 now.

You were covered head-to-toe in both blue and red blood, had two cuts on your face, a malfunctioning eye and right knee cap. The damaged parts notices had long faded, and were replaced with a sense of urgency. Amiyah had dried blood tangled in her hair, and a sprained wrist from when she tumbled away from her mother. Luckily, she didn't have a concussion (you'd done a quick check earlier), but she was tired. She was in a much better physical shape, but you had the ability to think further ahead.

Your first priority was to disguise yourself. Wearing android-identifying clothes was going to lead to your downfall if anyone were to run into you. You also needed to find something to get rid of your LED, and parts to replace those which were damaged. Broken parts would only slow you down.

Doing a quick search let you find the location of the nearest Cyberlife store — not your own, as for some reason, her parents traveled to the farther one in the opposite direction — and the fastest route to get there.

"I know it's not ideal, but we need to head to a Cyberlife store. The nearest one closes in twenty minutes, and with my injuries, it'll take us at least thirty to get there. There will still be androids walking around, cleaning up the place, but there luckily won't be any humans. Maybe we can convince them to help us." You explained quickly, searching your surroundings for better options.

Your eyes landed on the bus stop, a motorcycle, and the walkway in front of you. It took you 0.6 seconds to compose each possible route and outcome.

Standing at the bus stop would have you and Aliyah sitting at the bench for the next fifteen minutes. Amiyah's temperature would drop 4 degrees, due to her lack of proper attire. She has a 52% chance of developing a cold. When the bus arrives, there is a 75% chance the bus driver will directly question why you were so bloodied, 5% chance they'd tell you to go to the android compartment and ignore your state, and a 20% chance they'd alert the authorities. If they questioned you, there was a 23% chance you'd short circuit and a 100% chance you'd raise suspicions. Too risky, you'd decided.

If you stole the motorbike, there would be a 89% chance you'd be able to hijack it, the other 11% would set off an alarm. There would be a 17% chance someone would come outside, and a 100% chance they'd alert the authorities. Should you successfully hot wire it and drive to the Cyberlife store, there would be a 72% chance you'd both crash, due to your injuries. Anyone who would hear the crash (91% chance) would call the authorities. If you make it to the store unscathed, there is a 34% chance a patrol car will be driving through and a 97% chance it will spot you both. Finally, if you make it into the store without getting spotted, you'll only have a 12% chance of convincing an android to help you. 

Lastly, your walking route has a 36% chance of getting you spotted, by civilian or policeman alike. It will take 46% longer than the other two routes, but is 78% safer. 

That is, if your 26% chance of shutting down doesn't occur.

"Maybe we should find a car of some sort..." Amiyah suggested, her palm growing sweaty.

"We have a few options, but walking is safest." You responded, blinking rapidly. "It's up to you, though. You're my priority."

"Let's...walk, then. Can we stop by a clothing store or something first? I'm really cold..." Amiyah muttered, as you just now noticed her teeth chattering. "I really, really don't want to go back home."

Amiyah's Temperature Status: Cold.

Nodding, you recalculated your route. Stopping by the clothing store would mean you'd arrive at the Cyberlife store twenty minutes later, but it'd be more than worth it if it meant Amiyah could keep warm.

"Okay," Your eyes glanced over at Amiyah, and you wish you'd thought a bit more rationally before leaving the house. "I'm sorry, I should've thought about the cold."

"It's okay, you were—you were emotional." Amiyah giggled lightly. "You felt emotion, right? Androids-can't-feel-emotions, my ass."

Your jaw dropped, jokingly shocked. "Amiyah! Language!"

She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "Sorry, (Y/N)!"

Amiyah ⇡

A silence fell over the two of you, each of you lost in your own thoughts. Amiyah probably felt conflicted, you figured. You thought you would, too. If the life you knew was suddenly ripped away from you in exchange for your own, you would've felt the same. But you felt like, albeit very, very illegal and morally wrong, you did the right thing. Amiyah's mother would've killed her, had you not stepped in.But that also meant if you were found, you'd be killed immediately. You didn't want to die.

As you both turned the corner, you arrived at the Greek District. On the left, the Cyberlife store you located earlier, and on the right, the clothing store you'd planned to sneak into. Observing the entrances to the store, you calculated some ways you could enter.

Should you break the glass doors, it'd set off an alarm. Too attention grabbing.

If you asked the worker androids for help, they'd ignore you. Wouldn't work.

Attempting to hack into the security alarm would be risky, but likely your best short term bet.

That was all that was in your immediate vision, but Aliyah's body temperature was dropping fast enough that you had to get her somewhere warmer first.

The first thing you saw was a human bus stop, with an illuminated Cyberlife ad next to it. You sat Amiyah down on the bench furthest away from the light, and took a couple of steps back. Once you felt comfortable enough, you ran forward and kicked at the screen with all your might, shattering the glass and exposing the lighting and a few wires beneath the surface. Ushering Amiyah closer to the lights, you whispered, "Stay close to the light, but don't touch it. It'll keep you warm enough until I can figure out a way to get into that clothing store without being spotted."

Nodding, Amiyah wrapped her arms around herself tighter, giving you a small, but worried smile.

You ran back to the entrance of the store, constructing your other possible paths.

Running and jumping onto the bottom of the sign would be a start, but the sign would be too slick to hold onto. Too dangerous.

Throwing something at the emergency ladder would make it drop, but it would make a lot of noise. Too loud.

Using the ledges to hoist yourself up to the second level, which contains the open seating area for the food court next door, might work. The clothing store has motion detect doors on the second level, and are set to open when someone nears them. If you can hack into the door's security lock, you can get in easily.

Your eyes brightened again, taking a few steps back to begin the route.

Running as fast as you can, you stepped onto the bench and leaped towards the building using your good leg, narrowly grabbing onto the ledge. Adjusting your grip so you had a stronger hold, you used all your upper body strength to hoist yourself up, so you stood on the ledge with your toes. Your body was placed flush against the building, but your footing wasn't strong. Reaching upwards with your left hand, you managed to grab the bottom of the Freely 23 logo and swing your body over to the next, slightly higher foothold. Once you stood strong, you glanced behind you, checking up on Amiyah. Her body temperature had reached 94°; you had to move quickly. You climbed up the F as fast as you could, using the curve of the r to help you reach just below the class protecting the edge of the terrace. Grabbing the small, rounded ledge at the edge of the glass, you swung sideways so your left foot was hanging on the same ledge. Using all your might, you pushed yourself upwards and barely made the jump, tumbling over the glass and onto the floor.

Standing up quickly, you dusted off your clothes and walked up to the sliding door, staring down the lock. Your eyes glazed over as you hacked into the security system, and when you heard a click, the doors automatically slid open. Before you stepped in, your (s/c) skin faded away to reveal your android skin. Holding your hand over your serial number on the back of your head, you entered the store.

Looking around, you spotted a grey, wooly jacket, a pair of blue thermals, and some black skinny jeans. Taking what you knew of Amiyah's sizes, you grabbed the appropriate clothing, moving on to the accessories station. You picked up a pair of purple gloves and a white scarf, before grabbing yourself a knee length, wooly black coat and stuffing it all into a bag and leaving the store. 

You reached the terrace again, and kicked the lock on the fire escape ladder, snapping it. Acting quickly, you grabbed the ladder before it fell completely, and let it fall down slowly. Once it had reached its full length, you pulled the bag up to your shoulder and swung your legs over the glass wall, gliding down the ladder. Once your feet hit the ground, you ran towards Amiyah.

"Here, put these on," You spoke in a whisper, helping her into the jacket, scarf and gloves before putting on your own jacket. "We'll find a safe place to put the thermals and jeans on in a moment."

Amiyah ⇡

"Why is your skin gone?" Amiyah whispered, her teeth chattering dying a small amount.

"I had to make sure the security cameras didn't capture me." You zipped up Amiyah's jacket so it barely revealed her eyes. "Keep this zipped up, at least until we leave the center. We don't want them recognizing you."

Amiyah nodded, wrapping her arms around herself once again and standing up. The two of you walked through the center to the Cyberlife store, still illuminated by the bright fluorescent lights that were on when the store was open.

"How're we going to get in?" Amiyah asked, holding her gloved hands together in front of her mouth. "I'm sure they have a bathroom or something I can change in."

Your vision blurred for a moment, before your injured eye shut down.

"Whatever it is, we have to move fast. If not, I'm going to shut down." You spoke quickly, a newfound sense of urgency filling your veins. Amiyah looked at you with wide, worried eyes.

With your injured eye, you couldn't preconstruct anything. You just had to move. 

Walking up to the window, you placed your right hand onto it. Your LED spun yellow for a moment as you tried to identify what type of glass it was.

"Plexiglass." You muttered. "We can't just throw things at this, it's too strong. Amiyah, run and find any long piece of metal you can."

Amiyah nodded, a determined look on her face as she ran in the direction of the construction androids.

Looking around, you spotted a bobby pin on a nearby table. Grabbing it, you untwisted it so it reached its full length and stuck it into the lock on the door. You knew it wouldn't work completely, but it might work just enough to be able to break the lock with whatever Amiyah finds.

Twisting and turning the bobby pin, you listened closely for clicks. You recognized the model of the lock through finding the company's name and back searching, and knew there was a total of 12 spots you had to hit before the lock opened itself. 

One click, two click, four. When Amiyah came back with a crowbar, you'd reached six clicks.

Ushering Amiyah to step back, you lifted the crowbar over your head and swung as hard as you could downwards, breaking the door handle. Now that that was out of the way, you could smash the lock until it opened.

You held the crow bar at your side and jabbed forward, smashing the lock inwards. Once it busted, the door swung open a small amount.

For some reason, the alarm hadn't gone off. That probably meant that the worker androids were still packing everything up.

Wasting no time, you approached the staff room and peaked inside, Amiyah waiting behind you. Inside, you could see the worker Android standing in front of a printer, waiting for it to print something. To the right, you saw a light switch, which powered not only the lights in the room, but the lights in the entire building, too. Reaching out a hand, you flicked it off, causing the worker android's LED to turn yellow.

You opened the door more, glad that your jacket covered for LED. Whispering a, "Sorry," you slithered your hand behind the android's neck and pinched in a certain spot, causing it to shut down temporarily. You laid it gently on the floor of the main area before running further into the back for the broken pieces.

Cyberlife stores often fixed androids in-house, so all the "damaged" parts were stored here. Mostly, it contained fully functioning limbs that had a scratch on them, and the owners got it fixed for aesthetic reasons. A majority of the pieces were strewn onto the floor, most likely deemed "too little damage" and were going to be sent to the Android disposal.

"Amiyah, I can't analyze the parts with my broken eye. Can you look for #6312t? It'll say it on the outer edge of the leg. It's a right leg, please." You started looking for your #A754h eye, and quickly found it in a drawer on the right side of the room. Slowly pulling out your old eye, you replaced it with the new one, a relief flooding your veins as your eyesight returned to normal. Luckily, the color matched your existing eye color.

"Found it!" Amiyah whisper-shouted, holding it up in the air. She maneuvered her way through the pile of broken androids on the floor to hand it to you.

Pulling out a chair from the desk beside you, you pulled up your leggings and sat down. Pressing into the joint on the outer edge of your leg, the knee cap deployed, and you twisted the leg to pull it out. Taking the new leg, you pressed the same joint and stuck it into the socket, clicking it into place. Your synthetic skin pulled over it and you returned your leggings back to normal.

"Thank you. We have to move fast, we don't have long before the Android wakes up and alerts—"

Your blood ran cold at the sound of police sirens. The Android must have already woken up.

Grabbing onto Amiyah's hand, you noticed the lights were on in the hallway, meaning if you stepped out now, you'd immediately be spotted through the glass. 

While you were busy calculating routes, Amiyah placed a leg in between the hook of the door handle and the wall to act as a barricade. She grabbed your hand, snapping you out of your stupeur.

"Let's go out the back window." She stated, grabbing the chair you were on a moment ago and placing it in front of the window. "Help me up."

You stepped onto the chair, your knee acting as a step stool. Hoisting Amiyah up, you pushed her to the window, which she opened with ease. She stepped outside of it onto a platform, before helping you up and through it.

Rushing down the stairs, you used the shadow of the buildings to run away. Once you were a safe distance away, you glanced at the outside of the Cyberlife store, and could see three police cars with blaring sirens.

"That was smart thinking, Amiyah." You commented thoughtfully, a sense of pride filling you. "Good job."

Her cheeks flushed red. "Oh, uh, thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how I said last chapter your chapters are easy to write and then I hit road blocks like this one uwu
> 
> Oh my god ew don't let me say uwu again
> 
> Also, you're a different model compared to Connor, so you don't get software instability notices. 
> 
> Also, the biggest reason that this chapter is so late is bc of drama at school, plus I found out I'm not bi but fully gay? Meaning I'm into females lmao. Like I don't have any interest in dating guys? I'll still write this, but it's weird realizing that even if he was real, I wouldn't wanna date Connor? Anywho, have fun!

_Find some place to stay._

The rain was beginning to pour harder, and the slippery ice beneath your feet was growing slicker.

_They didn't put salt down. Keep Amiyah steady._

The flimsy umbrella you had taken from outside one of the shops you passed wasn't holding up well, and it started bending inwards. Your plan didn't go much farther than the Cyberlife parts heist, but you couldn't stop moving. You knew you had to find a place for you and Amiyah to stay, but you wanted to put that off as long as you could afford. If you both stopped moving for too long, you were sure you'd be caught.

"We have to find a place to stay." You paused, placing a hand on Amiyah's forehead, then her cheeks. "You're not sick, but that won't be the case for long. We need to get you someplace warm."

_-F-i-n-d-s-o-m-e-p-l-a-c-e-t-o-s-t-a-y-.-_

_Find a warm place to stay._

"I'll be fine." Amiyah gently pushed your hand away. "We need to focus on finding a place we won't be spotted. Preferably, somewhere near here, because it's cold as shit, but as we need to keep going...some place near the train station." 

The night sky was nearly pitch black, the streets illuminated by white LED lights. Many places were closed, pardon a pharmacy, a motel and a laundry mat down the road. The streets were so deserted, you thought you'd almost walked into an abandoned town. At night, Detroit really was a different city. 

Scanning the area, you found three possible shelter locations: an abandoned car, an abandoned house (which, strangely enough, you detected movement in) and the motel. The car would be the quickest option, as the gate could be easily open. Next would be the abandoned house, which made you somewhat nervous, but would be much warmer than the car. Finally, the motel would be the most dangerous but the warmest option for Amiyah. 

She's her own person with opinions, You thought. Maybe I should ask her where she wants to stay.

Following her eyes, you could see she was eyeing the motel.

The motel it is, then.

A large train track ran above some of the buildings, but no train was on it currently. Trains stopped running after midnight, so unfortunately, getting directly on a train wasn't an option.

Amiyah looked around for a moment, before slowly turning back to you. "I have a plan."

You raised your eyebrows, a small smile growing on your face. "Oh really? Well then, lead the way."

Her hand still intertwined in yours, the both of you began walking towards a pharmacy, lit up with neon letters. Just before the cashier was visible through the double glass doors, Amiyah turned to you.

"Here's the plan: I'm going to go in, begging the cashier to help me. I'll say I'm being chased by someone, and as long as I'm with someone, the creepy guy won't follow me. I'll ask him if he could accompany me to my car for a moment," she pointed at a car further down the road, "and that's when you swoop in and grab whatever you think we need. I'll yell thank you really loudly when he starts going back to the store, that's your signal to get out of there. Don't make it obvious you're stealing." Amiyah smiled, holding a finger up to her mouth. "Wait ten seconds before coming in."

"Genius girl," You blurted out, a wide smile on your face. "Okay. Whenever you're ready."

A smile matching the brightness of yours appeared on Amiyah's face. She forced herself to yawn, causing her eyes to grow watery, in order to appear as if she was crying. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and entered the store.

_Amiyah ⇡_

Through the glass walls, you could hear Amiyah's panicked voice. She was so convincing, her performance almost scared you. “Please, you've got to help me.”

Making sure to hide your face using your jacket, you waited for Amiyah. She eventually walked outside, the cashier behind her. Once his back was to the entrance, you swooped in.

Doing a quick scan of the environment, you were able to identify what you'd need at lightning speed.

The pharmacy was bright, a starking contrast to the darkness outside. The rows were organized in sections: drinks, toys, food, and tools, in that order, from left to right. Behind you was the cash register, and to your left was the staff room. Going into the staff room would be too risky, with too little promise of having something you needed, so you decided to avoid that.

Looking up at the cameras, you hacked into the security system to shut them off. Immediately, you grabbed a plastic bag from behind the counter and began stuffing it with anything you thought necessary - food, tools, and water made it into the bag. 

"Thank you so much sir!" Amiyah's voice was loud and clear, creating a countdown in your head.

_Fifteen seconds until cashier returns._

Running to the register, you quickly began scanning each item, before printing a receipt and stuffing it into the bag. The cash register rolled open to input the cash that wasn't coming, so you took the opportunity to grab a $100 before slamming it shut. You pushed the bill into your jacket pocket, and turned to the door, quickly making your escape. Just as you reached the sliding double doors, you paused, just centimeters away from the cashier, who arrived at the door the same time you had. He crossed his arms over his chest, giving you a one-over.

"Where do you think you're going with that bag?"

Pulling the receipt out of the bag, you showed it to the cashier. He snatched it out of your hand, using both hands to look at the full receipt.

"I'm the only one working right now. Who rung you up?"

"I did it myself, since you weren't here. I work at the branch on 14th Street, and used my log in," You explained quickly, hoping your lie was believable. "I probably should've waited, but my kid is waiting for me at home. I've got to get back to her soon."

The man eyed you, as if trying to commit your face to memory. You could tell he didn't fully believe you, but he also didn't have enough information to call out your bullshit. "Fine. Have a nice evening, ma'am." 

Bumping into your right shoulder and pushing past you, the cashier resumed his post at the register. Narrowing your eyes in response, you cursed the register guy in your head, before shaking away any negative thoughts. Aliyah's plan worked flawlessly.

You left the pharmacy, clutching the plastic bag so tightly in your hands you were sure your palms were coated with artificial sweat. Amiyah stood a safe distance across the street, waving to you when she saw you. Her eyes brightened at the large bag in your hands. Crossing the street, you met her half a block down from the pharmacy.

"How'd you get all that? I saw the cashier guy talk to you like he was gonna call the cops, and I was fully ready to come and drop kick him."

Chuckling, you switched the plastic bag to your left hand, so you could pull Amiyah close to your chest. "Of course you were. You would've panicked and hit him in the head with a fire log."

Amiyah pulled away, a smile on her face. "Uh huh, totally. I'm so much more coordinated than that, I'm saddened that you have such little faith in me."

Clasping Amiyah's hand in your free one, you dragged her across the street and towards the motel, pausing for a moment in front of it.

You turned to her, pulling your hood further up. The feeling you felt wasn't anxiety, per say, but something akin to it. Were you nervous you wouldn't pass as a human? After all, if someone was able to tell that you were an Android right away, you'd be reported for trying to enter a human-only establishment, decreasing your likelihood of escaping far enough, and —

Aliyah forces you out of your thoughts when she grabs both of your shoulders. "Hello, welcome back from Mars. Aren't we gonna go in?"

The light returned to your eyes, a saddened smile creeping onto your face. "It says no androids...do I pass?"

Amiyah studied your face for a moment, tilting her head slightly. "Hmm...yeah! Just make sure to keep the light from your LED hidden." She reached up and pulled your hoodie's drawstrings, causing it to tighten around your face. 

Giggling, she took a step back. "Perfect. Now you just look like a very cold-sensitive person!"

Smiling fondly at Amiyah, you turned to the entrance of the motel. "Let's go in, then."

Slowly, you pushed open the door, every step filled with caution. You reminded yourself to calm down, as being nervous only made you seem suspicious.

"Drivers' License, please." The burly man behind the counter spoke softly to the brunette woman in front of him.

On one of the seats by the window, a small girl dressed in a stripped sweater and a black puffy vest sat, swinging her little legs beneath her. Glancing back at Amiyah, I gently grabbed her shoulder and gestured for her to take a seat.

"You're injured, (Y/N), you should sit," Amiyah whispered back hushedly, her eyebrows furrowed.

"That's not important right now, I can't feel pain. You should sit, you might be the one with the concussion." That wasn't true, but you wanted her to listen to you.

Rolling her eyes in response, she crossed her arms and fell back into the chair next to the little girl; the child looking at her curiously. Turning your back to Amiyah, you focused on the woman in front of you.

Inching closer to the woman, you carefully listened in on her conversation with the man behind the desk.

"I'm sorry, I must've left it in the car."

A quick, irregular heartbeat. Shaky voice — nervous. This woman was lying.

_AX400 [Kara], belonging to Todd Williams._  
Reported Missing: Allegedly attacked Williams without warning.  
Injured esophagus, with dents around the skull.  
Traces of human blood linger across her skin.  
Stress level: 72% 

_Report found?_

_Yes._

_**> No.** _

_****_

"It's alright, we'll deal with it in the morning."

Amiyah and Alice were now playing some sort of hand game. You looked over at the little girl, scanning her as well.

_YK500 [Alice Williams], belonging to Todd Williams._  
Dents on left cheek and underneath the arms.  
Stress level: 20% 

Her shoulders relaxed and she gave the man a small smile as he slid the room key across the counter. "Thank you."

"Have a nice night, ma'am."

Snatching up the card, the woman held her hand out to the little girl sitting next to Amiyah. "C'mon, Alice."

The little girl, presumably Alice, gave Amiyah a small wave as she waddled off to hold hands with her mom.

"Next, please."

You walked up to the counter, smiling kindly. "Hi, I'd like a room, please."

"$40."

Pulling the hundred dollar bill out of your jacket pocket, you slid it across the table with as much confidence as you could muster. The man tucked it into the drawer in front of him, pulling out your change and handing it to you.

"Driver's License?"

Panic. You couldn't use the same excuse as the woman before you.

"I...don't have one. Never learned, you know? Especially with all these automatic cars today..." You chuckled, your mind running through thousands of scenarios.

"Okay, so any form of identification will work. Got a passport or anything...?"

You felt your pockets, searching for anything that can work.

"I have a credit card with my name and photo on it?"

The man smiled. "That'll do."

Pulling the card out of your pocket, you showed it to him, covering the Android identification symbol on the top left with your finger. The man reached for the card, and quickly, you hacked into the lighting system to shut it down.

The lights flickered off, causing the man to mumble a curse underneath his breath. "I'll have to call the electrician tomorrow. Here's your room key, miss. You two have a nice evening."

Smiling gratefully, you took both items. "Thank you, you too. Let's go, Amiyah."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm bi nvm lmaooooo silly me. Also, sorry for the extremely late update lol

"Come on, Fowler! You know how much I hate these fuckin' androids, yet you purposefully put me on these cases?!"

Fowler slammed his palms onto the table, standing up to match the man in front of him. "Hank, that's enough! You're a police lieutenant and will do as I say. Cyberlife has provided us with this high tech Android to assist on investigations, and you will listen to my orders! Do you want me to add another thing to your disciplinary folder, which already looks like a damn encyclopedia?!"

Standing up slowly, Lieutenant Anderson spat out a bitter, "Fuck you." before glancing at the Android behind him and leaving, swaying side to side as he did so.

Stepping forward, Connor, the Android sent by Cyberlife, began to speak. "I'd like to take a look at the deviant cases—"

In response, Fowler held up a hand. Connor's LED spun yellow for a moment before it figured he wanted to be left alone. Nodding, it replied with, "Have a nice day, Captain."

Soft, brown, faux hair shone under the fluorescent lights of the Detroit Police Department's offices, whilst chocolate brown eyes took in everything in the area. Connor, an RK800, was a high tech prototype Android that was highly capable of assisting detectives in the cases they received. With just one look at an Android, the RK800 could immediately assess its stress level, all injuries, and whether or not it was deviant. Similarly, it could assess the injuries and make an educated guess on the mental state of a human victim. Connor played a key role in regaining the public's trust in Cyberlife, especially with the increasing number of deviant cases. However, Connor wondered, it didn't know how it could regain the votes of the masses if the Lieutenant was going to remain uncooperative.

Connor walked towards Lieutenant Anderson's desk, rubbing its hands together as it did so. Every motion, every step and every glance were calculated actions, formulated for precise decisions and an ability to think quickly. Simply observing a room could reveal more details than one would expect.

The Android looked between the enraged Lieutenant and the desk adjacent to him. Deciding to ignore Lieutenant Anderson and his increasingly heavy breathing, Connor took a seat at the chair behind the unoccupied desk.

"Lieutenant, how do I—"

"Put it your fuckin' password."

Connor's LED spun yellow, and it figured that the Lieutenant did not want to talk anymore; so it entered its password to look over the deviant cases. The first two seemed like mere malfunctions, glitches in the code that caused them to lash out at their owners, but—

Connor's thought process was interrupted by a loud bang at the front of the room. Both Lieutenant Anderson and Connor looked up at the same time, surprised at the sudden noise.

"I need to speak to a detective, right now!"

A man with thick, straight black hair burst into the room, his pale face turned red with anger. The female android at the door attempted to stop the man's entry, but seemed to have been shoved away prior. It laid on the floor, nearly motionless. The man's stress levels were shooting through the roof, and the way he swaggered towards the Chief Detective's office indicated that. 

Before it knew, the RK800 Android was intercepting this man's path. Connor weaved through desks at a speed matching the enraged male's, stopping him with a hand on his chest before he opened the door to Fowler's office.

"Who the fuck are you to touch me, you fucking piece of shit!" The man shoved Connor away, turning its LED red briefly.

"Sir, that is the Chief's office. I am a detective, please describe your problem to me."

It was only then that Connor realized the man had had blood on his hands, now on the android's jacket. Connor's LED turned yellow, and its eyebrows furrowed. "Are you turning yourself in?"

The man grew close to Connor's face, close enough to feel his breath; the man's eyes flickering quickly between Connor's. "I'm here to file a fucking police report for a kidnapping and homicide! Let me see the chief detective, or I swear to god I will go straight to Cyberlife and have you scrapped."

Connor ran a face scan on the man, revealing him to be Tyler Ansley, a member of Madame President's world relations officers. Quickly following that revealed the identity of his wife and child, then that of his custom android.

"Forgive me, Mr. Ansley. I will submit the report for you to Chief Fowler." Connor bowed slightly. It took account of the fact that Mr. Ansley was getting increasingly more mad, and took a step back to place some distance between them should he decide to physically attack the android.

"I'm not talking to a piece of scrap metal. Get me the detective!"

The room was silent enough that one could hear a pin drop. The sound of glass scrapping lightly on concrete silenced the room. Fowler swung his door open, climbing down the steps slowly. "What the hell is going on in here?!"

"My wife was murdered, and my kid was taken. It was by that fuckin' android." Mr. Ansley spat, his heart rate climbing.

Fowler's eyes widened, and he looked as if he were at a loss for words. "Holy shit...okay, sir. Connor, get the Lieutenant."

Connor's eyes moved slowly from the Chief to Mr. Ansley, his LED turning yellow. "Yes, Detective Fowler."

 

 

 

Stepping back out into the cold, the two of you entered the courtyard. Frost coated the ground in a slippery light blue, covering the darkened brown of the gravel that numerous people and cars had treaded upon. Thankful for the faithful grip beneath the bottom of Amiyah's shoes, you finally let her walk without your hands intertwined.

As you approached your own room, 104, you watched as Alice and Kara entered their room the floor above yours. Kara placed her shoulders on Alice's shoulders, ushering her into the hotel room, her eyes trained nervously on yours. Making sure to remember their faces, you took the key card out of your pocket and used it to enter your own room.

The moment the door opened, the heater roared to life, preparing to warm the room to a comfortable temperature. You turned the light on, removing your shoes and placing them by the doorway. Amiyah gently pushed past you into the bathroom, flicking the light on with a soft, "Wow...!" You were sure the bathroom was nothing special, but after not having access to a clean one for hours, this one must've seemed like heaven's bathroom.

You shrugged off your jacket and hung it on the coat rack behind the back of the door. Turning around, you quickly examined the quality of the beds. Nothing super fantastic, but not shabby either.

As you walked around the first bed to reach the pillows, Aliyah's head popped out from inside the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower."

Nodding, you turned your attention back to the pillows. "Don't forget to hang up your wet clothes while you're in there."

Biting your lower lip, you knew that your paths crossing Kara and Alice's would seriously cause problems for both of you. You had to keep them on your radar; you already knew they were in a similar situation to you and Amiyah. 

Maybe I should go scope them out, you thought. Determine if they will be a friend or a foe.

Slowly walking towards the bathroom door, you knocked on it lightly. "Amiyah?"

A faint, "Yeah?" echoed from the bathroom. 

"I will be right back. I'm just going..." You paused, thinking for a moment. "to get ice."

"Okay!" With that, you left the hotel room and entered the rain outside. 

The rain only seemed to get harder, leaving with you a foreboding feeling as you climbed the cobblestone steps to the second floor of the motel. Walking quietly, as if your footsteps weren't already drowned out by the rain, you approached room 204. Taking a deep breath in, even though you didn't need to, you mentally prepared yourself. Balling your hand into a fist, you pounded on the door.

The door handle turned slowly, but the door swung open quickly. It rattled slightly at the force, the flimsy door chain struggling to remain in one piece. There was a moment of pure, intimidating silence as Kara's striking blue eyes met your (e/c) ones. "What do you want?"

Suddenly, you felt as if your words had gotten caught in your throat. "I..."

"We can't help you. Please leave."

Kara moved to close the door, but you pressed against it before she could. "Please. That's not what I want."

"Well then, what do you want?!" She hissed, glancing behind her, most likely checking if Alice was listening.

"Are you...like us?" You whispered. "Have you run away, too?"

A look of surprise and distrust flickered through Kara's eyes. "What do you want to gain from identifying us?"

A betraying sigh escaped your body. "Absolutely nothing, just knowing that we're not alone in this." A shaky smile graced your face. "I just wanted...to come up and introduce ourselves. That's all. I'll leave you two alone. Thank you for speaking with me."

Kara's eyes softened only momentarily before hardening again. Without a word, she shut the door and turned the bolt lock with so much force you could hear it outside the door. You chuckled, that was most certainly purposeful.

Turning around, another heavy sigh left your body. Just knowing that you two weren't entirely alone in this world through your journey made you feel a thousand times better. You couldn't wait to tell Amiyah about your two new acquaintances.

As you walked down the hall towards the stairway, you glanced at the clock on the wall. 1:52 a.m. it read; Amiyah should be asleep soon.

You tried to walk as quietly down the steps as you could in case there were other patrons in the other rooms. Once you reached the ground floor, you sped up your walking speed, trying to return to your room without being spotted by the man at the front desk.

Your room was four doors away. A light emitted from the curtains two doors away, and for some reason, your heart felt like it had stopped. A horrible, foreboding feeling ran over you was you walked by the window.

A scruff man, with stark blonde hair messily slicked back and platinum chin stubble to match, stared at you with what seemed like piercing, unforgiving yellow eyes. He stared at you intensely and intently, as if he were trying to commit every aspect of what you looked like to his memory. Your eye contact was brief, lasting only a few fleeting moments, before you were out of sight. Regardless, the momentary encounter sent a chill down your spine.

As you unlocked the door to your room using your key card, you regretted that you didn't take the chance to identify him. Forcefully, you shoved the encounter to the back of your mind as you entered the room. You didn't need to plague Amiyah with your poor premonitions.

When you entered the room, Amiyah had long since been out of the shower. She laid on the queen sized bed in the middle of the room, clad in the thermal shirt and pants you'd smuggled earlier, accompanied by a robe from the motel's bathroom. The quality and possible uncleanliness of the robe nagged at your mind, but you decided to let it slip for tonight, as Amiyah had already been through so much.

"Hi." She gave you an unwavering smile, and grief flooded your heart. She'd just lost everything - her family, her house, possibly her education and everything she'd ever known, yet she was still smiling like the suns she used to draw in the corner of her papers as a child. You wanted to give her the world - she certainly deserved it - but you momentarily wondered if you'd be able to give her the life she thought she'd get by staying with you. Amiyah had to have some idea of what she was getting into, especially because she was practically a smaller Einstein, but you wondered if she had truly grasped it. You honestly didn't want to talk about it, but you knew you should at least ask.

"Hey," you spoke softly, sitting on the opposite side of the bed with your body turned to hers and your legs hanging off the edge. Your left hand held you upright as you looked in Amiyah's eyes. "if you want to talk about it, we can."

Amiyah shook her head, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. "I'm okay. I promise."

She was lying. She'd never been a good liar by any standards.

"Alright. I trust you." You gave her a small smile before joining her in leaning back on the bed. She'd tell you in her own time. "What're you watching?"

"The news. Up until just a moment ago, it had been basic stuff, but I think I just saw something important."

You sat up straighter at this. "What was it?"

"Do you remember the little girl in the waiting room? Her name was Alice, she was no bigger than seven..." Amiyah's voice trailed off as she waited for any acknowledgment that you knew who she was talking about. You nodded thoughtfully, and she continued, "Well I think her dad just came up on the news. Her and the lady who she was with attacked him and ran away together."

"I know, I did a background check on them." You hummed. "Kara, the android, didn't seem particularly happy about conversing with me. I tried talking to her but understandably, she was very wary in even opening the door for me."

"What'd she say?"

You let your head fall backwards onto the headboard. "Basically to not mingle with them, because of their safety. At least, that's what I got from the conversation. I also kinda used it to confirm the validity of my background checks."

Amiyah leaned her head against your left shoulder. "And?"

"They did run away together, but she had too little blood on her skin for someone who initiated a surprise physical attack. He likely attacked the little girl, and the android tried to defend her. They probably had to run away or they'd both die."

Amiyah paused for a moment. "...Just like us." You could hear the effect the bile had in her voice.

You nodded slowly, turning to look at her. "Yeah. Just like us."

The two of you remained silent for a few more minutes before you practically jumped up, startling the half-asleep girl. "We should turn the lights off and go to bed properly, huh?"

Amiyah nodded, and shifted to lay down. She pulled the covers fully over her head as you flicked off the light. 

Turning away from the door and towards the bed, your eyes ran over a small, illuminated red dot on the mirror in the bathroom. For a second, you thought nothing of it, until a gun shot rang through the previously silent room.

Amiyah's scream cracked through the silence as she rolled onto the floor, either out of surprise or fear. You couldn't see the bullet, but you heard it whiz by your face and come into contact with the wall behind you. A loud, "Shit...!" escaped your lips as you ducked, fumbling to move behind the bed for some form of cover. "Amiyah, get down!"

The bathroom door swung open loudly, a previously darkened figure stepping into the dim light of the moon. A man dressed in all black with a hand gun in his left hand and a shot gun strapped to his back came into view. He had an eye patch over his right eye and a burnt out cigarette hanging between his lips. The man gave the cigarette a hard puff, causing small ashes to flicker to light before dying out just as quickly as they came. You could make out softer, round features of his face but there wasn't enough light to identify him.

You watched in pure silence as the man approached where Amiyah laid on the floor, the opposite side of your side of the bed. His footsteps made heavy clunking sounds on the hard wood floor, giving you an idea of how far he was; maybe around four or five feet now. He slowly lifted his gun to point it at Amiyah, and switched off the safety when you pounced. 

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you tackled the man to the ground. He reactively pulled the trigger, which must have barely missed Amiyah because you heard it hit the drawers behind her. You hoped the ricochet hadn't hit her. The man fell with a hard thump, his beanie falling off with him, revealing a bright red LED circle. His wild brown hair unsheathed, and you quickly latched onto it to hoist yourself up to straddle him. His legs bucked in a bid to fling you off, but you used your feet to steady you. You slammed your knee down on his left arm, to hopefully incapacitate his shooting arm, and lifted his head up to slam it on the floor. It made a hard thonk sound, and you were positive that this man was an android. 

Using your right hand and keeping the other locked into his hair, you palmed at his chest until you got a hold of the outer edge of his thirium pump, turning it counterclockwise until it clicked. The man stopped thrashing around, not out of inability, but out of caution.

You licked your lips, your artificial lungs working overtime to pump oxygen through your body. Your mouth was dry due to adrenaline, and your body shook with rage.

"Who are you, and who sent you? If you choose to try and fight back, then so help me God because I will end you right here." Everything flowed like it was one word out of your mouth.

A dry, light chuckle filled the room. "And what're you gonna do to me, doll, if I try neither?" A high-pitched feminine voice; this was no grown man. 

You laughed pitifully. "You sure do talk a lot for somebody who's on the edge of death."

The android's chest heaved almost in time with yours. "Give me a minute to catch my breath."

"You're gonna catch these hands if you don't answer her question!" Amiyah piped up from behind you, leaping to her feet.

The unknown android looked between the two of you the best she could with her head pinned to the ground. "Cute. Mother and daughter."

"Cute. Mother and daughter—my ass." Amiyah hissed. Bending down, she picked up the perpetrator's hand gun and aimed it at her. "So answer her question, otherwise you get to pick the way you'll go out."

"Does she even know how to work that thing—?" You cut the android off by slamming her head against the ground again. "Ahh—Jesus fucking Christ, holy shit give me a second! I'll stop fucking around, promise!" Her hands raised the highest they physically could, in order to show surrender.

"This is the last time I'm gonna ask you," you leaned in closer, pressing your hand in her hair down further to pull her head back. "Who are you, and who sent you?"

"The name is Quinn, I'm an RT600. I wasn't sent by anybody, y'all just intruded on my territory." The android spike breathily and you could practically feel the beating of her pump beneath your fingertips. One gentle tug, and this game was all over. "I want my shit back, so I thought it would be a good idea to kill you."

You briefly wondered how she came to that genius idea. "This isn't your territory, this is a god damned motel room. What do you want from here?"

"It's a hotspot." The android paused to inhale deeply. "For parts trafficking. For androids. My stock is in the closet, I'm surprised y'all haven't seen it yet."

You looked at Amiyah over your left shoulder and gestured to the closet with a nod. Amiyah bobbed her head up and down to show agreement, and she tip-toed over to the closet, swinging it open. Various different android parts came toppling down like an avalanche, and Amiyah quickly took a step backwards to avoid touching any of them. Involuntarily, you began identifying each one before you turned back to the android at your mercy beneath you.

"Why try and kill us? Why not just threaten us?" You spat bitterly.

"Well, take one look at you and I know you're a custom. I take one look at her and can identify her as Tyler Ansley's daughter." Quinn paused to look at Amiyah, smiling almost smugly. "Your face is all over the news, girl."

You pulled her face back to look at you. "What?"

The android shrugged. "All over the news, baby. Your name, too. They think you kidnapped the kid."

"Shit." You muttered, your eyes drifting briefly before they snapped back to Quinn. "What else do you know?"

"About what?"

"About the bounty on our heads, you trafficker." Your mouth moved before your mind could catch up.

"As much as I like a pretty lady straddling me, I'm starting to get antsy with your hand on my heart like that. How about you get off of me, and I tell you what I know?"

You move to say no deal, but Amiyah put a hand on your shoulder. "Let's hear what she has to say."

You slowly stood up, reluctantly letting go of your iron grip on her hair. Stepping back to give her some space, you acknowledged that her shot gun barrel was completely caved in, meaning she couldn't pull any fast ones on you. 

Quinn sat up, and you finally got a look at her iconic Chloe face. The only difference to the ones on TV and the one before you now was the smug smile and the brown curly hair.

"First off, they."

"What?" 

"I use they/them, darling. Not super complicated." Quinn stood up, dusting off their pants. "Anywho, can I get my gun back?"

"No." You spat. "It's our bargaining chip. We're not just gonna hand it back to you."

A hearty sigh left their lips. "Ugh. Fine. What're your questions?"

You nudged Amiyah, and she carefully lifted the gun at Quinn. "How publicized is this search for us?"

Quinn absentmindedly looked at their nails. "Pretty big. Just started coming on today, though. Down at the BG, they've got bounties for a hefty sum on your heads."

"What's BG?" Amiyah quipped.

"BG? Y'all don't know? It's short for BackGround. Basically, it's the corrupt police organization's route to get others to do the dirty work for them." Quinn looked up at you. "BG is for androids, specifically. Rogue androids that, with the promise of results, are allowed to remain deviant and on their own. It's reach stretches as far as to Illinois."

You and Amiyah shared a slightly nervous glance. "Okay..." you spoke softly, trying to make sense of the information you just received. "So you're saying...that we've got both the police and some rogue androids on our case now?"

Quinn nodded. "If you don't get to where you're going, fast, soon you'll have Madame President's CIA on your ass too."

"Oh god..." a sigh left Amiyah's lips. This was getting way too stressful for her.

"Let's make a deal." You said quickly, glancing at Amiyah to gauge her reaction: confused. To be honest, you were too. You didn't know what to do next. "You help us get out of BG territory."

"What's in it for me?" Quinn smiled devilishly, leaning against the table behind them.

"What do you want from this?"

Quinn put a hand to their chin as if they were thinking deeply. "I dunno. Maybe that little number?" Quinn pointed to your left hand. Reflexively, you hid that hand behind your back.

"What's so special about her left hand?" Amiyah asked carefully, stepping forward slowly.

"Amiyah, don't worry, it's nothing—"

"That ring finger of hers is a deadly weapon." Quinn nodded in the direction of the hand in question. "It's a database for Cyberlife. Holds information on government and android relations, as well as crucial coding for how androids run."

Amiyah looked at you. "What use does that hold us now? Quinn obviously knows this area and how it works, maybe just trading that hand or something can get us their help."

"This hand, Amiyah, holds crucial information." You spoke carefully, as to make sure your tone didn't sound critical. Lifting it up, you let Amiyah look at it: the hand looked relatively normal, pardon the pitch black heart painted permanently on the nail of your ring finger. "If it gets into the wrong hands, it could lead to the dismantling of society as we know it. We'd be better off on our own."

"Really?" Quinn cut in. "Even with all the search helicopters? Just accept my help, doll. It's worth it."

You sucked on your tongue for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Okay. Deal. But the exchange happens after we're out of BG territory."

Quinn slapped their hands together and leaned over slightly with a look of pure disbelief. "Seriously? Oh my god, that's sweet. Okay, let's get going."

"Now?!" Amiyah looked at you, and her exhaustion was clear on her face.

"Not now, in the morning." You looked back at Quinn. "Amiyah needs to sleep. She's not an android, you know."

Quinn chuckled and shrugged. "I know. Just figured the sooner we leave, the better..."

"Go back to bed, Amiyah. I'll stay up and keep watch on them." You turned to Quinn. "You sleep in the bathroom." 

"You're too cruel, (Y/N)." Quinn sang cheekily as they retreated to the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

Your eyes lingered on the door even after it closed. Something about Quinn reminded you of your awful premonition from earlier, and while you wanted to ignore it, some part of you nagged you to never forget it.


End file.
